U.S. defers China aluminum foil dumping decision

WASHINGTON, Oct 5(Reuters) - The U.S. Commerce Department said on Thursday it would defer issuing its preliminary determination in an antidumping duty probe into imports of aluminum foil from China.

The department said in a statement the delay will allow it "to fully analyze information pertaining to China's status as a non-market economy (NME) country."

U.S. aluminum foil producers have filed petitions with the U.S. government accusing Chinese manufacturers of dumping the product in the United States. In 2016, imports of aluminum foil from China were valued at an estimated $389 million, department figures show. (Reporting by Eric Walsh; Editing by Sandra Maler)